Burrow co-founder + couch prophet Stephen Kuhl picks art

June 08, 2019

If you’ve been on an NYC subway recently, you might have seen one of Burrow’s brilliant ads, showcasing not only their super sofas, but their stellar sense of humor and highly relatable exaltation of a couch’s true calling: sloth. Sure, people need a place to sit, and Burrow takes style seriously, but what really sets them apart from the other furniture companies out there is their appreciation for ease, ergonomics and downright luxurious laziness. Comfort is king when it comes to Burrow’s modular, versatile furnishings, and a lot of that has to do with their CEO + co-founder, Stephen Kuhl.

You can track Burrow’s emphasis on functional design to a back injury: Kuhl herniated two discs rowing crew in college. When he and his B-school buddy cum co-founder Kabeer Chopra launched Burrow, they made it a priority to produce a couch that would do a body good. Their line is also high-quality, chic, eminently shippable, and easy to assemble, solving for all the usual furniture shopping frustrations in one fell swoop. If we sound smitten it’s because we’ve recently had the opportunity to spend a lot of time swanning around Burrow’s SoHo showroom, Burrow House, trying out all their offerings. ICYMI, Burrow House has been outfitted with a carefully curated collection of 20x200 art, and just this past Thursday we got to celebrate our partnership with an awesome art hang.

Point is, we’re big fans of Burrow, and love the level of attention Kuhl and Chopra have paid to their product. And if that weren’t enough, it turns out Kuhl’s got quite an eye for art. Case in point: his 5+5 interview.– Team 20x200

5 Perfect Picks

1) S68-48662, a 20x200 Space EditionLook at the passion of all these people. They're not just watching a space shuttle launch, they're watching the culmination of years of hard work culminating in this extraordinary event. It's inspiring.

2) Sorcerer by William CrumpI often feel like my brain is scattered madness. There are bright thoughts muddled by dark thoughts, all constantly in motion and together create the beautiful cacophony that is my psyche.

3) Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan by Berenice AbbottOne of my favorite things to do in New York City is ride my bike around. You get to see so many parts of the city at a different speed and from a different perspective, none better than from the bridges between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

4) Yoga by William WegmanMy girlfriend and I always joke that our dog is a person. Dogs have such great personalities and I love seeing them in human-like poses or situations. Plus the colors are fresh and bright.

5) Welcome by Lindsey WarrenI feel like I'm on a rooftop at dusk, winding down my day above the noise of the city, taking in the peaceful, colorful haze in the horizon. Being an entrepreneur is stressful, so it's nice to have beautiful views to relax.

5 Q's + 5 A's

1) What's your favorite museum?Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. As a child seeing the massive bones of dinosaurs for the first time, I felt like I truly understood how incredible Mother Nature is, and how even the most awesome things on this earth can be taken away.

2) What's your most coveted coffee table book?We made our own at Burrow! It's a giant flip book of someone assembling our loveseat and then flopping onto it in a playful way. It was part of our first (professional) photoshoot as a brand.

3) Do you prefer a single statement piece or a salon wall?I like a mix of both. It depends on the space really, but if I had to choose, I'd say salon wall because it has more character.

4) If you could be reincarnated as an artist, who would you want to be?Picasso. He was known for breaking the mold and redefining what art was. He was also known to enjoy life to its fullest, which meant he appreciated life itself.

5) You and your co-founder Kabeer go way back—further even than your B-school days at Wharton, where your shared couch shopping woes evolved into the idea for Burrow. We’re guessing you know the guy pretty well, and we hear he has an eye for style. If you were picking out a piece of 20x200 art to give him, what would you choose and why?'Nice Pants' by Landon Nordeman. Kabeer could pull these off.

The 411 on Stephen KuhlI grew up in Syracuse and was an avid freestyle skier, despite living on the east coast. I rowed crew at Cornell, and then did a mix of strategy consulting and growth investing before business school. At Wharton, I met my girlfriend and started Burrow with my co-founder. We launched the company before graduating and have loved every minute of it. We're redefining what it means to be a furniture company with consumer-driven, innovative product design. In what little free time I have, my girlfriend and I like to explore New York City with our rescue pup.